Monday, March 22, 2010

Milani Infinite Liquid Liners (Review & Swatches)

So today I'm going to do a little post on Milani's Infinite Liquid Liners. I picked these up quite awhile ago (seriously need to catch up on posts) at CVS during a BOGO deal. These puppies are $5.99 a pop at regular price. I was immediately drawn to them because the line offers a wide variety of colors -and I rarely see colorful liquid liners at drugstores. I was super excited. I picked up 4 of the 5 available colors in Infinite (blue), Forever (bronze), Endless (purple), & Eternal (green.) I skipped Everlast, which is the black, since I have lots of black liners already.

The Packaging: First off, the packaging. The packaging is pretty simple -slim bottle with liner brush. The cap and font is gold and the bottle is clear -showing the color of the liquid liner inside. So far, I like the packaging. What about the brush? I hate the brush. It's flimsy, the brush hairs are uneven, and I can't stand its shape. It's thin on one side and wide on the other (hope I'm making any sense.) Here's a picture..

On the left is the Milani liquid liner brush. To the right (for comparison) is Urban Decay's liquid liner brush.

Milani liquid liner brush -side view.

Yuck! I don't like to apply liquid liner (or even cream/gel liners) with brushes like these. I much rather use a thin liner brush -like Urban Decay's that is the same size at all angles (not something wide and flat like the Milani brush.) The horrid brush doesn't pick up the product well at all -you'll have to go back with a second or third "helping" of liner. Not going over your first line with cause it to look streaky. Call me lazy but I don't like having to line my eyes twice. I even tried using a different brush as well, which worked a little better, but I still needed to go over it twice (also has to do with the formula.)

The Product: Milani describes these as being waterproof and having a "24 hour lasting formula that wears with comfort and color intensity to perfection." I can vouch that these are definitely waterproof and will stay put all day through sweat and tears (not sure about 24 hours but I wouldn't doubt it!) These are a bit difficult to remove even with a good makeup remover and will require some scrubbing. The formula is goopy, thick, and difficult to work with (even for experienced liquid liner wearers.) The color does go on pigmented but again, you'll have to go over your line more than once or it will look streaky. Also, if you mess up and have already applied eyeshadow underneath, you're pretty much doomed. This stuff DOES NOT budge whatsoever without the help of some makeup remover.

The Color: Love, love, love the bright colors that Milani offers but again, the formula turns me off. However, if you're willing to give it a little elbow grease, the colors are pigmented and beautiful.

1. Infinite- Gorgeous bright blue. My favorite color of the bunch.

2. Forever- Kind of a mix of gold and bronze but more bronze. Very rich, elegant color but it didn't show up on my skin well -and I have medium skin tone.

3. Endless- This wasn't the bright purple that I was hoping for. It's more of a duller, medium toned eggplant color but it is nice if you're going for that look.

4. Eternal- Flashy lime green color.

Swatches..

(From left): Infinite, Forever, Endless, Eternal. (Last 3 swatches are their Liquif Eye Liners.. will do review soon.) I applied several coats for these swatches.

Here I tried to display how streaky they were -but my camera didn't catch it well. These swatches were done with only 1 coat of liner.

Overall: I'd skip these if I could go back in time and I would use the BOGO deal on some other Milani products. However, if you're looking for an affordable liquid liner in fun colors and want to put in the extra effort, then I say go for it. These do last long and the color is nice -you just have to be patient.

2 comments:

I agree about the formulation and brush but I LOVE the metallic finish and colors. My fav is the UD one's but they are so pricey, these are a nice alternative. I wish they would come out with more shades and again in your infinite wisdom..a brighter purple or violet would be amazing! I use a different brush and do a couple layers. LOVE it and your reviews! Thanks again Kali, you rock!

Disclaimer: The reviews are always 100% my own opinion. We all have different skin types, opinions, etc. so the reviews are based off my own experience using the products and because of this, please be aware that not everyone will have the same outcome or reaction. Unless otherwise mentioned, I've purchased all the products myself. I have never gotten paid to do reviews. I do not believe in fake reviews and strongly despise them and the fake people who partake in them. It's morally wrong!! (If you are a company that would like me to review a product, please email me. If you are a reader who would like me to review a product, please feel free to let me know in an email or comment and I will do my best to review it.) Thanks! =)

COPYRIGHT: It is plagiarism to take any content including photos and and written work from The Makeup Drawer without my knowledge. If you would like to use my photos, please let me know beforehand and link the post that the photo is from. Photos of my family and friends are off limits and may never be taken from this site. With the exception of the above statement, the content of The Makeup Drawer should never be featured on any other blog or website. Also, I can only be found on Blogger and (very rarely) on MakeupAlley and Specktra. I do not have a LUUUX, Facebook, Twitter, or any other blog or website.